Wonderland
by therandomnoob
Summary: He was thrown into another world. Another life. Not knowing where he was, why he was here, and who he himself was.
1. Chapter 1

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

IDK WHAT TO WRITE!

AND I HAVE SHORT MOTIVATION BLEH T_T

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WRITE! MY CREATIVITY IS SUPER BAD! Well, there goes my creative writing... -cries-

I'm such a NaLu fan, sorry for peeps into Nali, or into NatsuxErza (idk their ship name)

The first chapter probably won't have any Lucy presence in it though. There might be another guild member. Random...might be Gray or Erza...or me jk.

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He was floating in nothingness.

He didn't know anything…anyone…

Not even himself.

Suddenly, a platform disrupted his flight. He cried painfully on contact and rolled down a slope. His back then struck the wall as it shrieked in surprised terror. Sliding noises sung in front of him, pushing him into a small room, so tiny that he had to crouch. Grinding noises were heard as his cramped box shivered, slowly inching its way downward. He scrambled madly around, his stomach lurching at the metallic screeches that hissed at his ears. There was no source of light. He reached around but only felt hard uneven concrete biting the tips of his skin. To his dismay, his box slowly swayed ominously back and forth, replaying itself like a pendulum of a clock. His stomach churned nauseously, and he felt the need to vomit. A bland moldy smell added to his nausea.

His room then abruptly reached a stop, throwing him forward and causing him to slam his head against, luckily, a metallic wall. Only his left hand scraped the menacing concrete. The metallic wall groaned and slowly tilted back, stretching its stiffness. To his horror, a minuscule light pierced into his darkness as he instinctively covered himself with his hands, helpless against the unknown scene. Despite his squeezed-shut eyelids, he realized it was gradually growing brighter. He hugged himself tighter, covering his ears to the deafening moans.

Finally, a slam echoed throughout his box. He squirmed, shivering. A thought arose in his mind. _This is fear._ He tasted the word. _Fear._ It didn't sound pretty, but he was sure it described his situation perfectly. Nothing happened. Silence endured. For once, his eye was tempted to crack one look outside. He resisted and remained huddled.

After what seemed like an hour, he slowly slipped off the edge of resistance. The box groaned softly, almost like it was coaxing the boy outside, and it waited patiently. Even his "curiosity" pushed him. A chirp flowed into his ear, causing him to have a mini seizure. _It's just…a "bird"_ he told himself, comforting his panicking heart. He loosened himself. Again the silence endured as the box groaned tiredly. _Just one peek…_he admitted.

At first, he couldn't see anything. The light blinded his eye. Stars twinkled in his vision as he struggled to retain his composure. His body swayed a little, and his head spun in confusion. Blinking, a surrounding eventually formed before him. It wasn't what he had expected.

Spiraling around the landscape, trees lavished the scenery as the grass stretched lazily across the ground. It welcomed him softly, contrasting against his dull, rotten shelter. Dots of light decorated the forest, and judging by the shade, it was sunset.

Reacting normally, he stepped out but caught himself. He sniffed the air instinctively.

No presence.

Gingerly he climbed out of the box and landed on the soft grass. His fingers touched the green substance. It felt like hair as it kissed his concrete-bitten pads. Grinning, he petted it some more. Something crinkled to his left. He ignored it and continued to smile goofily.

A slam echoed behind him and caused his smile to fall. His orbs widened, realizing what had just closed. Whipping around, he ran towards his shelter, which closed, and attempted to claw back inside. The box stubbornly stayed shut and only groaned in response to his attempts. Above the box, a chain pulley latched itself to the top, shrieking upon contact. Grunting through hard effort, it slowly lifted the boy's doomed haven. Weary, as if it had completed the procedure millions of times before, the pulley creaked slowly, aching its joints. It complained like an old man, coughing its way upwards while he helplessly grabbed at the box, only to slide off due to the slickness of its texture. Taking another swipe, he missed and yelled in frustration. The machinery only laughed condescendingly at his efforts.

Giving up, his eyes trailed to the final speck. It glowed eerily blue before dissipating into the nothingness of the sun-splattered sky. He sunk to the ground, unable to decide what to do.

In his confusion, he didn't realize the padded steps that were slowly approaching him. The edge of his peripheral vision latched onto a hint of red, no scarlet, that danced with the wind. Slowly, he turned his head, facing a fair maiden of armor, who only looked back in shock. Her bangs ran past her hazel eyes as, due to the boy's surprise, her left eye welled up in tears. She reached for him, unable to trust her eyes. He was in front of her. Alive. And well.

"…N-Natsu?"

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-ends- ok, the end. jk.

it'd really help if you guys could provide some constructive criticism :DDD just don't overdo it. you'll trample my egoism.

aha...-faceplants the ground- thanks for reading this ahah...i'm sorry i wasted your timeee aohaowhgoghgaow

i wonder what it would look like if i banged my head on the keyboard 3 times. hjfhfgf ...not what i expected.

note: my friend read this and said it sounded like maze runner's beginning. i haven't read it yet (i'm sorry, fans), and i heard the movie was coming out soon. :OO gotta read it.

my intro birthed from my idea of amnesia with my other idea of the dystopian theme. don't worry, i won't erase their magical powers. cuz i like them. except i suck at fighting scenes so i won't do it a lot. lol.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry guys. This is soo rushed blehhhhh...OTL OTL OTL everywhere.

I'm really bad at this. I'll attempt to improve haha C: so please give me advice if you have time ^o^

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"Natsu. It's me, Erza!" she cried. "Don't you remember? How are you alive? What happened?" Taking his shoulders, she shook him back and forth. Instinctively, he slapped her hands away. He was frightened, but didn't dare speak a word—in his eyes, she was a stranger.

She looked hurt, but was still persistent in her efforts. "How? HOW? " And she began to weakly punch him. She then dropped to her knees but kept her stare, her left cheek stained with tears. To his amazement, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. He ignored the need to whack her away. It felt appropriate to not.

But he was confused. He admitted that he lost his memories, so he thought logically. The girl was still shivering and hiccupping from her breakdown, unable to talk to him.

Apparently, her name is Erza. And she recognizes him. And called him by the name Natsu. Only three possibilities could result in his head right now:

One was that he really is Natsu due to the evidence of the scarlet-haired girl and his loss of memories. The next possible one was that she had mistakened him for someone else. The last one, highly unlikely, said that the original Natsu was dead. And he was the clone. Sci-fi crap.

Calmly, he pried her away from him and settled in a one-foot gap between the girl and himself. Her face was still contorted, but he could tell she was pretty. Was she that guy's girlfriend?

He tried to say something but couldn't. It didn't work like he wanted it to. So he reverted back to his mind, trying to fish out one memory that had her. None. Guiltily, he felt nothing towards her tears. That Natsu guy would definitely beat him up. But he simply did not remember or even meet her before.

"That's right…" He suddenly heard her mumble. He looked at her quivering composure, and she laughed weakly. "That's right…Natsu died…in front of the whole guild. Hahaha…"

He froze. The guy named Natsu died? But she had mistakened him for that guy because of his appearance. Wait what did he even look like? His brain squeezed and wriggled uncomfortably, so he pushed it into the back of his mind. He stayed quiet, waiting for the girl to continue.

"That's right. Hahaha….ha… He went BOOM!" She threw up her hands and wheezed out a cough, a little bit choked.

"He exploded?" He mentally slapped himself. He expected her to look at him in horror and waited for a slap. But she sighed instead.

"Beams of lights shot through his body. And…." She stopped and started laughing. It was half sad and half crazed.

"…And..?" Curiosity took the best of him.

Looking back at him, she grinned weakly. "Red. Stuff came out. Hahaha….It was so distorted that we had to cremate his remains." She casually twirled her hair and settled in a new sitting position—her knees pointed towards Natsu while her feet pointed outwards. It resembled an arrow.

He was shot? Light beams? "Why did you mistake him for me?" It was a stupid question, but he had to drive the conversation on. He literally came into this world from a stupid box. And he knew nothing.

Again, she looked at him. He couldn't help but notice the right eye seemed glassy. "Your pink hair." She patted it. "Except his is spikier. And yours is flat."

"…And…?"

"Black eyes. That look aggressive but determined. But yours is monotonous." He felt a little insulted. But he pressed on.

"And?"

"Jaw shape."

That wasn't defining. "And?"

She seemingly ignored him. "Those monsters... They basically reproduced…They knew though…" She punched the ground, leaving a large dent in the ground. His eyes widened at her strength.

"Uh…"

All of a sudden, she let a scream and abused the ground. It went deeper every contact she made. He quietly scooted away, but didn't run. It would be dangerous to have her chase him.

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After an hour, she stopped, blinked a few times at his cowered position, and coughed. "You know what? Let's not talk about this anymore." She proceeded to stand up and pat away her clothes. Her armor clanked in response as it reflected hungry gleams in his eyes. She then offered her hand, which he took, and pulled him up. He murmured thanks, but remained cautious.

"Welcome…uhm…number 666." She smiled and gave him her hand again, this time offering a shake. He looked confused again and bent his head down to see a name tag. It was typed neatly in red no. 666, and he was annoyed. He couldn't help it. It felt like he was labeled as something. To the girl's shock, he ripped out the name tag from his shirt, leaving a hole, and he proceeded to throw it away.

"Give me a name," he demanded. Erza looked at him quizzically. He blushed at his action, suddenly self-conscious of the skin he showed. "I don't want to be known as some number…and…" he paused, "I don't really remember anything…" He was confused by his own trust emitted towards the scarlet girl. He only knew her for 30 minutes. But he had to tell her.

To his surprise, she nodded knowingly. "Test subjects often appear sometimes without memories of anything. They don't possess magic powers like us."

He forgot about the name and raised his eyebrows. "Often? Test subjects? Magic?" He didn't like being called that.

"Well…sometimes they can appear with memories of their past life. And we call them that because they're ordinary humans. Most of the people here in this world possess magic powers, like me," she simply stated.

He had mixed feelings as a thousand questions exploded in his mind. She was a "mage" as he was a "test subject." He landed in the category of test subjects as the amnesiac ones.

"So I'm a test subject who has no memories?" He blew his bangs upwards and sighed, a little depressed.

"You're lucky," she narrowed her eyes, "the ones who come with memories always end up dead." Noticing his facial expression, she continued, "We're not sure why for the main reason. But sometimes they commit suicide from nostalgia; they want to go back to earth. Other times, they go completely insane and try to murder others, and end up with a death sentence."

He gulped. But a question prickled his brain. "So if this isn't earth, where are we technically?"

"You have a lot of questions for a test subject," Erza scoffed. Suddenly, her demeanor changed from a crying girl to a strong, intimidating woman. But she softened and admitted, "We don't know ourselves, so I can't answer that."

He groaned. She seemed a little more ticked after every question he threw out. But he was confused why she was willing to answer him in the first place. Was it because of his similarity to Natsu? What if he was Natsu? Wait, but Natsu died. In front of that girl's eyes. He pushed back his bangs with his hand and ventured another question.

"Are there other categories besides mages and test subjects?"

"Yea, there are some mages who are unable to activate their powers when entering this world. It's usually a small minority," she shrugged, "sometimes it's simply hidden or in the worst case scenario, completely erased."

"That'll take forever."

"Well, we have devices that can tell whether an individual contains magic powers or not."

"Like?"

"Your questions are starting to make my brain tick."

He ignored the comment. "Show me."

Sighing, she placed her hand out. He was confused. Should he grab onto it? Or what? Before he grabbed it, a bright light emitted as it took the shape of a device. When the light cleared, it depicted a worn out object that closely resembled a walkie-talkie. He was glad he didn't take her hand.

"Happy?"

"Show me how it operates."

"It's not even of any use to you." She gritted her teeth. But she calmed herself and explained, "I press this giant red button here." She pointed at it with her index finger. "If the device flickers blue, you have none. If it flashes red, it means you have it." She pressed it and aimed it towards herself. It flashed red.

"Here you try. Don't break it." Erza handed him the remote object. He gently took it from her, a little worried that he would. His fingerprint appeared on the screen, and he hastily wiped it away with the hem of his shirt. She rolled her eyes.

"It's just a cheap device. You can have it." To his surprise, she began walking away while waving her hand. "It might protect you in sensing whether there are magical presences in the forest or not. Then you'll have time to run." She then paused. "You're welcome."

He raised an eyebrow. "What? Why do I have to run?"

A scoff was heard. "To stay alive."

To stay alive? "Are there that many criminal mages?" he called out. She was still in his range. He saw her turn around with a smile. "No, just monsters with instincts to murder people on sight." He paled and felt his stomach rumble uncomfortably, lurching upwards. That wasn't good.

She laughed as if she heard his stomach. "Don't worry, the device has good range. Try it on me from there."

He glared at her. "I can practically see them if it's only this far. And how am I supposed to defeat them if they have magical powers like you?"

"Luck. Brains." She again rolled her eyes. "It should produce a medium signal froooommm…" She took around ten steps backwards. "Here," she finished.

Sighing, he pointed the device at her and pressed the gigantic red button. It immediately flared crimson red. He squinted his eyes.

"Wow, if this is medium, I can't imagine high."

"Oh yea, it also depends on the individual's power. It glows brighter if it's more." She smiled, a bit proud.

This time, he rolled his eyes. "Show-off." He heard her laugh as she ran towards him. "I'll show you how it looks when it's blue."

Erza took the device from his hands and pointed it at his chest. "It's usually royal blue to my eyes even though everyone else says it's navy blue."

"What's the difference?"

She huffed a sigh. "Of course you wouldn't know."

"Ok. Let me see it."

"I'm doing it now, idiot."

He didn't feel offended and only grinned. "Now?"

"Yes now." She heaved an impatient sigh and pressed the button.

…

It was glaring red.

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worst cliffhanger ever. haha idk how to write those. BSBSBSBSBBSBSBS :D


	3. Chapter 3

CONTINUING...I HAVE SO MUCH TIME TODAY!

-CRIES-

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They both blinked, almost expecting the screen to say, "Oh just kidding guys. I'm actually going to flash blue. I turned red just to see your reactions. Haha."

But no. It was inanimate. The red bored into their eyes.

Suddenly Erza chuckled. "Sorry. I'm a little colorblind. It must be blue to you."

He shook his head, causing her to freeze. "I think I'm colorblind too."

"Well…"

They both looked back to the screen.

"Well…" she attempted.

"Yea." He finished.

"I guess you're coming with me. Have to ask Makarov about this."

"Who's Makarov?" He raised an eyebrow. Suddenly, his mind was invaded with questions again.

"Our guild leader. We're called Fairy Tail."

"What's a guild?"

"It's a group."

"Of what?"

"Mages."

"Always?"

"In here, yes."

"Here?"

"This world."

"What about earth?"

"Various."

"Like what?"

She threw up her hands in exasperation. "You know what?!"

"What?"

She glared at him. "One more question and I'll behead you on the spot."

He shut his mouth even though it brimmed with questions. He groaned inwardly when he realized he didn't ask her how her "guild" would react to his presence. Erza seemed like a sensible person. But she broke down when she saw his face. Because he looked like someone named Natsu. How will the guild react?

That reminded him.

"Hey."

"I thought I said no more questions," she commented, her voice laced with annoyance.

"It's not a question. It's a command."

She stopped and turned around to face him. He didn't budge. "Oh? A newbie ordering an S-class mage?"

Newbie? S-class mage? There was a social hierarchy in this world? He pushed them back. This was more important. Plus, he didn't want his head sliced off. "Give me a name," he said.

"Oh…" Her stern face suddenly melted into a confused but hurt face.

He noted it. In her mind, he was the copy of Natsu. And they were probably close. "It's ok. I understand. But it's annoying not having a name, besides number 666. Erza." He emphasized her name, earning a weak smile in return.

She shuffled uncomfortably. "I'm sorry. I'm not very creative…Uhm…How about…" She faltered.

Suddenly, a piece of paper flew into his face. It was the name tag that he tossed out as he grimaced towards the giant red "no. 666." It stood out. He was about to throw it away again when Erza stopped his arm.

"Wait. There's something written on the back. I think I saw something."

Confused, he flipped the paper over and pushed aside the shirt cloth that hung on by a pin. His eyes widened. It wasn't possible.

_Natsu Dragneel_

His heart stopped a little.

He was Natsu. Oh no…

He couldn't be the same Natsu Erza was talking about…Right?

"Hey, you ok?" Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

His stomach lurched. His heart sat at the lump of his throat as beads of sweat trickled down his neck.

"Ah…uh…uhm…"

"Cat got your tongue?" She scoffed. He didn't question her phrase and stayed silent. "Let me see." She snatched the piece of paper out of his hand and flipped it around. He barely had time to react.

…

The silence endured. Leaves blew past the two figures and wavered a little bit, almost like they wanted to see what was happening. But the wind pushed them on.

"….This…this isn't funny," she managed to rasp. Her eyes tilted upwards. "This really isn't funny…You people who trapped us here…Is it that fun to play with our emotions? Are we less than humans? Are we less than animals? Are mages that disgusting?"

"..Erza…" He tried.

"IS IT THAT FUN?!" she screamed. Tears sprang out of her eye. She cupped her face and kneeled on the floor. "HE'S DEAD! WHY?!"

He awkwardly sat down in front of her, but his mind spun. His name was Natsu Dragneel. But Natsu was dead. And he had no memories to prove his death was wrong. But here he was. Coincidentally having the same appearance and the same name.

"Erza..I…"

"No." Her head shot up, and she grabbed his hand. "We're going back to my guild. Now." Her cheek was still streaming with tears.

He didn't reply and followed her.

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Soon, a dilapidated building appeared before them. It barely looked stable. Plants draped over parts of the building, like it was an archaeological site. The forest loomed behind, giving a depressing aura. Everything lacked except for the boisterous noises that sprouted from the inside. A sign with the image of a bird on skis laid next to, what he assumed, the front door.

He took a breath. And let it out. It was pathetically shaky to his surprise.

"There's no mistake," he heard her whisper.

"Er—"

"Not right now. I don't know how they'll react…once they see your face…"

The wind rustled her hair, covering her expression. He could only stand next to her in silence.

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A crash rumbled here and there as hearty laughter filled the air. Clanks of cheers sprouted as the men cheekily grinned and blushed at the female bartender, who flashed them a smile in reply. Nearby, a man was in the process of stripping with a blue-haired girl blushing furiously nearby. She covered her face with her hands, but her fingers provided space for her eyes to peek through. To the left, a table composed of a slender, short-haired girl reading with an intimidating man sitting next to her; she didn't mind his presence, which added to the disappointment of the two men fawning behind her.

All of this was observed by a blonde beauty who sat alone, sipping her drink and twirling her pencil. She was unable to think of any stories to write, so she sprawled her arms across the table and laid down her head.

I hate life, she thought. The dusty odor of the table caused her to wrinkle her nose in disgust. She brought up her head again and took another sip, sighing at the cool satisfaction. She wanted to talk to Levy, but she was occupied with her menacing dragon-slayer partner, Gajeel. Her eyes tilted to Juvia. Nope, still fawning over Gray. Erza was still exploring. No one. She slumped.

"Lucy!" Her ears perked up, and she spun around to see two fair females walk towards her direction.

"Lisanna! Yukino!" She almost cried, having gained company.

Even though the two weren't related, they almost looked the same. Even Mirajane, the female bartender, noted how similar Yukino was to her sister. Both had short, light-colored hair with similar facial features. However, Lisanna had plain, white hair with warm, sapphire eyes as Yukino had sky-blue hair with piercing hazel eyes. Lucy almost envied their light and innocent complexions.

She received a hug from Lisanna as Yukino settled on the other side of the table, smiling warmly.

"How's the novel?" Lisanna asked as she settled into a seat next to Lucy.

"Terrible."

"I'm sure it's not bad, Lucy," she chided. Yukino only laughed as Lucy pouted. She was unable to keep it.

"I don't have good inspiration. So it's pretty much blank."

Lisanna then stood up and squealed. "Can I be your inspiration?" Her eyes shone with excitement.

"I'm not sure it works that way, but sure." Lucy skimmed through her notebook. The white-haired girl squealed again.

A crash sounded. "Lisanna! Could you help me for a bit?" Her sister called.

"Kay, Mira! Be right back guys!" She took off sprinting.

Yukino watched until she was out of range and looked at Lucy, who looked back confused.

"What's up Yukino?"

"Well…I've been waiting…for…" She paused.

"For…?"

Yukino then took out her three keys and pushed them towards Lucy. The blonde beauty only gaped in silence.

"You have to take them, Lucy…Please…"

She looked up. "I already said I can't." She pushed them back to Yukino, who insistently pushed them back.

"You know I lost my powers. I'm not a celestial mage anymore."

Lucy bit her lips and shook her head. "They're your friends. I can't take them away from you…It doesn't matter whether you're a celestial mage or not."

Smiling, the light blue-haired girl took her hands and placed the three golden keys onto her palm. "I can't summon them. I can't ever see them again. You're the only one who has the power to…You're my friend, and I entrust them to you. It's the best choice. Please…" She closed Lucy's hands.

"Yukino…I really…can't…" she faltered.

"You've gotten so much stronger ever since….ever since he…" Silence pursued. The chaos in the background almost seemed nonexistent.

He. Natsu. Her partner. She now no longer had one. Even though Gray had invited her to join him and Juvia, she refused. She realized that she was too dependent on others, so she worked with Erza to improve her combat skills. She did. Her sadness ironically drove her on. Fighting was something to take her mind off of him.

"Please, Lucy? This way, I can see my friends again. And the Zodiac signs can finally be reunited. I know that they already trust you," Yukino calmly said.

"Not all the Zodiac signs…" she whispered. All their keys dangled from her belt except one.

And that was the Water-Bearer. The conceited, hot-tempered Aquarius was gone forever to live on in the celestial spirit world.

"_It's a mermaid!" Lucy squealed in excitement. She jumped up and down. Since her mother's death, it was the first time she smiled and laughed._

_The blue-haired mermaid looked down in annoyance. "You have got to be kidding me..."_

"_Mermaid! Mermaid!"_

_She rolled her eyes. "..I have a brat for a master."_

Lucy smiled bitterly. Aquarius was her first spirit. Even though she was hot-tempered, she managed each time to find a way to help Lucy indiscreetly. Lucy gripped her drink harder.

The last moments were painful.

"_I'm a little bit…worried about the whole trust thing," she chuckled, "…But we've been together for a long time. I'm sure it'll work out."_

_Lucy looked at her. "What are you saying?"_

"_Lucy. I'm doing this to save my comrades."_

"_What the heck!" Lucy screamed. "Aquarius, you're my comrade! I can't just sacrifice someone to save someone else! There's got to…!"_

"_No Lu—"_

"_There's got to be some other way! I won't give up!"_

_The spirit scowled as she concentrated on pushing away the hell demons. "If there was some other option, do you think I would be suggesting this?!" she snapped. Her face then softened. "…This is the only way, Lucy…."_

"_I CAN'T!" She shook her head wildly. "THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO WAY!"_

_Aquarius winced in pain. "Lucy…we're running out of time. My power…won't hold him off much longer…"_

"_I CAN'T!"_

"_Even if you destroy—"_

"_I CAN'T!"_

"_EVEN IF YOU DESTROY MY KEY, THAT DOESN'T MEAN I'M GOING TO DIE!" She bit her lips. "We simply won't be able to enjoy…each other's company ever again."_

_Lucy cried. Her figure shook and quivered. "I can't…"_

_Her eyebrows unfurrowed, and her scowl gently turned into a smile. "I was originally your mother Layla's celestial spirit…When Layla died and passed my key on to you…"_

"…_I can't…"_

"_..I was disappointed. You're so damn quick to cry. You're so damn childish. You're too damn naïve to the world…And you didn't have a hint of Layla's grace." Tears brimmed in her eyes, but she covered it by a splash to her face. "I've always…hated everything about you."_

"_I DON'T CARE IF YOU HATE ME!" she screamed. "I LOVE YOU AQUARIUS!...I love you…" she whimpered. "You were my first friend…my…"_

"_HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO ACT LIKE A SPOILED, NAÏVE, LITTLE BRAT?! RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE THE ONLY PERSON THAT CAN SAVE YOUR FRIENDS!" She winced as she continued to push back the enemies._

_Lucy trembled._

"_WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING RIGHT NOW? MEMORIES?! KEYS?! GUILT?! NO! IT'S THE POWER TO SAVE YOUR DAMN FRIENDS! THE POWER OF A CELESTIAL SPIRIT MAGE!"_

"_..I ca—"_

"_NOW DO IT! DESTROY MY FUCKING KEY! THIS IS SOMETHING NO ONE ELSE BUT YOU CAN DO!"_

"_..I can't—"_

"_KUAHAHAH! WHAT ARE YOU ARGUING ABOUT? Just a little further AND YOU'LL BE IN MY RANGE!" Jackal's wild eyes scurried hungrily from Aquarius to the quivering figure of Lucy. He shrieked in laughter._

_Lucy tilted her head. Her face was covered in scars and bruises as tears coated her cheeks. "I…I..love you…Aquarius…"_

"_DAMN IT! JUST DO IT, LUCY!"_

_Her hand shook as it held the golden key. It began to glow. She closed her eyes and concentrated her power._

"…_My heart…it's burning up…I don't know why…" The mermaid admitted. "Even though I hated you, you little..brat…."_

"…_Open…!"_

"_Even though I hated you…."_

"…_THE GATE TO…!"_

"_I just can't stop…these damn feelings…" Her voice quivered. "Never seeing you again…is going to be so lonely….Lucy…"_

"…_THE CELESTIAL SPIRIT KING!"_

"_Thank you…" She didn't cover her tears. "…for everything…"_

_The key snapped._

"Lucy? You're crying." Yukino looked worried.

"Huh?" She touched her touch. It was wet. "Oh gosh. Sorry! HAHAHAH!" She wiped away the tears, only to smudge them and produce swollen eyes. "I was like…only crying from laughter. Mirajane told me this one joke that was about—"

Yukino hugged her. "I'm really sorry I made you remember…"

"What? Hahah…the joke?" she smiled.

"I already know. You don't have to hide it, Lucy…"

"I'm not hiding anything I swear!"

"Don't bottle it…."

Lucy laughed. "Fine. I'll tell you the joke. You seem so worried about me. Really…" She couldn't control it. "I really…Oh gosh…hhahaha…I-I-I…" She hiccupped. "…Gosh darn it, Yukino. You're making me r-r-remember Mira-ra-ra-jane's joke ag-g-ain…" Tears landed on her skirt. She couldn't do it anymore. "It's so funny…I'm crying…see?" She pointed at her face, which contorted between a smiling and a crying expression. Her smile turned into gritting her teeth.

"Lucy…"

"It's ok! I'm strong!" She cupped her face.

Yukino immediately understood and fetched tissues for her. She patted her back and sat in silence next to Lucy, who was still sniffling.

"It's ok…You still have the guild. We won't leave you…."

She clenched her teeth. She couldn't keep it in. Yukino was right. "I HATE IT! WHY! I HATE IT I HATE IT! I'VE LOST SO MANY PEOPLE! I WISH!"

The whole guild quieted down, watching Lucy brim in tears. They tried to refrain it themselves.

"..I WISH…I WISH ONE OF THEM WOULD RETURN TO ME RIGHT NOW!" she screamed as she buried her head into Yukino's chest. "MY FATHER..I WISH I APPRECIATED HIM MORE…I WISH I SUMMONED AQUARIUS MORE….I WISH I TOOK THE TIME TO FIND ANOTHER SOLUTION…I WISH I DIDN'T SACRIFICE HER…NATSU…I WISH I TOLD HIM….I WISH I WAS A BETTER PARTNER…"

The guild watched in silence, mourning the past events. Yukino didn't know what to say, but she hugged Lucy tighter.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, revealing two figures.

Lucy looked up.

One was Erza. She pushed the other guy inside.

Her eyes widened. No, it couldn't be.

The pink hair. The obsidian eyes. The well-known scowl.

"Hi….I'm Natsu…Dragneel…"

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YAY FINISHED. WOOT WOOT! Flashbacks took up a page. wahhhh.

:D:D hope u liked it. a little if u reached this chapter. hehe ^^;


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